The Fall of Rome

Mr. Roe7th Grade

Social Studies

Review

-You have learned about various ways Rome has impacted our culture today (through art, engineering, system of laws, etc.,)

K-W-L Chart

Begin by continuing to add to your K-W-L chart

BIG IDEA (s) Poor leadership, a declining economy, and

attacks by Germanic tribes weakened the Roman Empire

Rome finally fell when invaders swept through the empire during the A.D. 400s

Rome passed on many achievements in government, law, language, and the arts (but you already knew that…)

Essential InformationContent Vocab

People Places

InflationBarterReform

*Add these to your CCD!

DiocletianConstantineOdoacer

Constantinople

How many years are

there between 100 B.C. and 400 A.D.?

After This Section, You Will Be Able To:

*Decide which factor (s) were the greatest causes of the fall of Rome through persuasive writing

*Debate on whether or not you think the fall of Rome was inevitable

Connection to TodayChristianity

Christianity is one of the major monotheistic religions today. However, one cannot understand the foundation of Christianity without understanding Roman history!

The Roman Empire gave birth to the first Christian empire…Byzantium. The Byzantine Empire would rule for nearly

1,000 years! Christian churches would flourish, and Christian converts would grow at an astonishing rate. Yet,

for years before this happened, Christians were persecuted, becoming martyrs under Roman leaders.

p. 148 DOP…who was the first Christian Emperor? How can you connect his ideal of religious freedom to our

constitution today?

Partner Check

On your Whiteboards:

Come up with as many predictions about why an empire might fall apart. If you already know reasons why the roman Empire fell, list those as well. I will ask you to share your responses with the class after you discuss with your partner.

Ten Theories on the Fall of Rome

Will your theory be one?

Barbarian Invasions

The Roman army had always been able to defend the borders of Rome, but now the

army was changing.

More and more “barbarians” entered Rome in search of land and food.

Many of these people such as the vandals and Visigoths were being pushed into

Rome by the Huns.

Decline in Morals and Values

•Crimes of violence made the streets unsafe

•Romans had a passion for cruelty and this was seen in the gladiator games and

beast hunts that took place in the Colosseum

Environmental and Public Health Problems

•It is possible that many Romans (especially the rich) died from lead

poisoning

•Many water pipes were coated with lead and the water that was piped into homes

was contaminated

Partner Check

Turn to your partner and discuss the first three theories on what contributed to the fall of Rome.

I agree with__________ because I think that__________________.

I disagree with____________. Instead, ________I believe that_________.

Excessive Military Spending

•Maintaining the army to defend the borders of

the empire was costly•Military spending left few resources

available for other vital activities like public housing or

maintaining roads•Romans lost their desire to defend the

empire•Emperors resorted to paying soldiers

•In order to pay for the soldiers, emperors had to

raise taxes

Lack of Innovation

•While Romans created great scientific achievements like aqueducts and concrete

roads, they did not advance farm technology.

•Romans relied on slave labor on farms (recall latifundias) and soon the lack of new

technology resulted in less food being produced.

Partner check-Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple, (notice how that is an appositive btw) believed that if a company refuses to innovate, then they risk dying out. How can you apply that same belief to Rome?

Inflation

•Roman coins were made from gold and silver.

•As time passed, less gold and silver was put into the coins and the coins lost value.

•More coins were needed to pay for items because the coins were less valuable.

•Many Romans turned to a barter economy.

Individual task-Create a cause and effect chart to represent this theory on the fall of

Rome

Political Corruption

•Roman emperors often came to power through the power of their personal armies

•Often the throne was sold to the highest bidder

(similar to consuls during the Republic)

•Later Roman emperors were corrupt and poor leaders

Partner check-In your opinion, what would make a poor leader?

In my opinion, a poor leader ________________.

Unemployment

•Many Romans did not have jobs•The unemployed crowded into the cities

and lived off of the government•The emperor had to feed these people and

this was very expensive•At one time, more than 100,000 people

were unemployed in the city of Rome

Perspective: If San Jose currently has a population of 1,000,000, and 100,000 were unemployed, how many people out of 10

would be unemployed?

Urban Decay

•Most poor Romans lived in multi-story apartments in the city

•Often the building were in danger of collapse or were infested with critters

•Romans who could not afford to pay rent lived on the streets

Urban vs. Rural…What is the difference?

Summary Rome began as a kingship, and turned into a

Republic. Patricians made the poor angry, civil war broke out, and Julius Caesar established

himself as dictator for life. Julius Caesar is killed, and another civil war breaks out. His nephew, Octavian, who becomes Augustus, declares

himself emperor and allows the Senate to stay in tact. Thus, Augustus creates a sort of

Republic/Dictatorship hybrid known as the… Roman Empire. Although the empire contributed a lot to our culture today, it eventually falls into decay over hundreds of years, due to various

factors. Eventually, the empire would split into two different parts, the Western and the Eastern. The Western part would fall, while the East would

give rise to a powerful Christian Empire…Byzantium.

K-W-L Chart

Please take this time to work on your K-W-L

chart for these sections!